Predictors of the efficacy of His bundle pacing in patients with a prolonged PR interval: A stratified analysis of the HOPE‐HF randomized controlled trial

Abstract Aims The randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled HOPE‐HF trial assessed the benefit of atrio‐ventricular (AV) delay optimization delivered using His bundle pacing. It recruited patients with left ventricular ejection fraction ≤40%, PR interval ≥200 ms, and baseline QRS ≤140 ms or right bundle branch block. Overall, there was no significant increase in peak oxygen uptake (VO 2 max) but there was significant improvement in heart failure specific quality of life. In this pre‐specified secondary analysis, we evaluated the impact of baseline PR interval, echocardiographic E‐A fusion, and the magnitude of acute high‐precision haemodynamic response to pacing, on outcomes. Methods and results All 167 randomized participants underwent measurement of PR interval, acute haemodynamic response at optimized AV delay, and assessment of presence of E‐A fusion. We tested the impact of these baseline parameters using a Bayesian ordinal model on VO 2 max, quality of life and activity measures. There was strong evidence of a beneficial interaction between the baseline acute haemodynamic response and the blinded benefit of pacing for VO 2 (Pr 99.9%), Minnesota Living With Heart Failure (MLWHF) (Pr 99.8%), MLWHF physical limitation score (Pr 98.9%), EQ‐5D visual analogue scale (Pr 99.6%), and exercise time (Pr 99.4%). The baseline PR interval and the presence of baseline E‐A fusion did not have this reliable ability to predict the clinical benefit of pacing over placebo across multiple endpoints. Conclusions In the HOPE‐HF trial, the acute haemodynamic response to pacing reliably identified patients who obtained clinical benefit. Patients with a long PR interval (≥200 ms) and left ventricular impairment who obtained acute haemodynamic improvement with AV‐optimized His bundle pacing were likely to obtain clinical benefit, consistent across multiple endpoints. Importantly, this gradation can be reliably tested for before randomization, but does require high‐precision AV‐optimized haemodynamic assessment to be performed.